Iron Condor Explained: How the 4-Leg Trade Actually Works
A plain-English guide to iron condors: the four legs, breakevens, max profit and loss, a worked example, and when the trade blows up.
Market Education
Learn how stocks, bonds and capital markets work. Explore plain-English explanations, worked examples and charts, then follow related coverage to connect market concepts with current events. Find your way around ECMSource.
Free Cash Flow Explained: FCF, FCFE, and FCFF
Free cash flow: what operating cash flow minus CapEx actually tells you, plus how FCFE and FCFF differ, with Apple, Microsoft, and Alphabet numbers.
Ford Beats Q2, Raises 2026 Guide to $10-11B Adjusted EBIT
Ford reported Q2 2026 revenue of $48.3B and adjusted EPS of $0.42, then raised full-year adjusted EBIT guidance to $10-11B. Shares jumped 5% pre-market.
Interest Rate Swaps Explained: Fixed-for-Floating and SOFR
How an interest rate swap turns floating debt into fixed. Mechanics, a $100M worked example, SOFR after LIBOR, and Dodd-Frank clearing.
Preferred Stock vs Common Stock: What’s the Difference?
Preferred stock vs common stock: voting rights, dividend priority, liquidation order, cumulative vs non-cumulative, and where preferreds fit.
The Yield Curve: Shape, Inversion, and What It Predicts
How the U.S. Treasury yield curve works, why its shape matters, what inversion has and hasn’t predicted, and how to read today’s curve.
Covered Calls Explained: How They Work and When They Don’t
A plain-English guide to covered calls: mechanics, payoff, breakeven, a real worked example, when the strategy earns its premium, and when it costs you.
Payment for Order Flow (PFOF): How Free Trades Work
Payment for order flow (PFOF) is how zero-commission brokers get paid. Here’s exactly who pays whom, what Rule 606 discloses, and why regulators disagree about it.
Yield to Maturity Explained: YTM, YTC, and YTW
How yield to maturity, yield to call, and yield to worst work — with formulas, worked examples, current Treasury yields, and why bond desks quote YTW.
The Index Effect: How S&P 500 Additions Move Stocks
How S&P 500 inclusion moves a stock: the pre-announcement drift, run-up to effective date, decay after, and why the effect has shrunk since 2010.